News

Confederate flag sales flying strong for at least one retailer

Not every retailer is pulling Confederate products off the shelves in the wake of the murders in Charleston, South Carolina and push to retire flags.

June 25, 2015

Not every retailer is pulling Confederate-symbol products off the shelves in the wake of the murders in Charleston, South Carolina and the political-driven movement to permanently retire Confederate flags flying at state legislative buildings in the southern U.S.

In fact, at least one retailer is seeing a boom in business when it comes to selling Confederate flags.

The phone hasn’t stopped ringing, Ron Willis, who owns The Flag Company in Tampa, Florida, toldthe Tampa Bay Times.

"We've been getting a lot of calls," said Willis. "People want to see if we're still selling them."

The consumer appetite for the flags seems to be partly tied to the fact that many stores are opting to pull the Confederate flag and other ‘Confederate’ symbol merchandise off shelves.

"People may be saying, 'we need to get them while we still can,'" he told the Tampa Bay Times.

Earlier this week published reports noted big retailers online and offline have yanked the products from stores, including Wal-Mart and Amazon and that top flag makers are no longer making the battle flag. There are a few flag manufacturers who are continuing to make and distribute the flag.